TechCrunch has a great article on the growth of enterprise software featuring a 3 trillion dollar opportunity, but it's bigger than that and there's so much room for small business and start ups. In short, mobile collaboration for your workforce with direct integration to product partners and stakeholders is the only model to develop for, anything else would be a disservice to your client.
Just five years ago, we wouldn’t have imagined that a farmer or construction worker could be an information worker. But with products like Farmlogs, Planet Labs and Airware in farming and agriculture, and PlanGrid or Skycatch in construction, all new demographics of the workforce are being supported by information technology. And this is just the beginning. As every employee on the planet is enabled by a smartphone, the addressable market for enterprise software grows from about half a billion people to the billions of workers leveraging mobile devices to do their jobs.
Every job is software-enabled, every industry is digitized. Read more at TechCrunch.com
It's getting harder to tell your kids to put away the video games and get a real job when stories like this are popping up in the news. How video games turn teenagers into millionaires. The point of interest in the article that caught my eye is the statement that these careers weren't available 5 to 10 years ago and that even in this flux that we are now seeing where AI (artificial intelligence) is taking jobs away from people, other career paths are emerging. Let's hope new careers can keep up with the ones being lost to AI. Realistically, it's a lopsided equation in favor of automation. But, learning to be an entrepreneur and riding the trends of a market in flux, you just may be able to make enough to last a lifetime. Take a look through the BBC's Bright Sparks section and see what what the smart kids are doing.
If you're read tech news whether it is to keep up or researching new companies, Tech Crunch is a valuable resource. On TC each article about a company has in-depth information on the right side column. It links over to Crunch Base just click on the company title and you'll open up a whole chronological history of the founders, funding they may have received, investors, acquisitions and changes within the organization.
For the full info and additional research you should get the pro subscription that allows drilling down into companies, key players, websites, domain names and more. It has a nice java interface, looks like it was built with DHTMLX, but more than likely a custom cut. Well worth the subscript for professionals.
Here's a great idea for the taking, the magnification card or Mag Card. In the extra space above the magnetic strip, during manufacturing process, create a clear magnification lens out of the card plastic or mold it into the card meld the surface so it doesn't pop out when flexed. The benefit being no need for a reading glass to see your bill or glance over a menu.
Great idea? Well it's here for anyone to develop and patent. I hold a design patent and several copyrights on other products. And after going through the patent process a couple of times, I've learned that if you're not going to make it your life's work and defended it into possible bankruptcy, it's really not worth doing.
The Mag Card has great potential and I'd just like to have one built into my debit card. I'm hoping someone runs with this idea and makes the world a better place (leave the lawyers out of the loop).
The Mag Card was hatched in the early hours of the morning involving the perfect combination of alcohol, an attractive waitresses and a bar tab the size of a federal invoice. If you decide to manufacture and end up making millions, throw a little this way and I see that the ladies get their share.
Veteran's Day falls on November 11 for a good reason many do not know. November 11th is the anniversary of the signing of the Armistice, which ended the World War I hostilities between the Allied nations and Germany in 1918. On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 an armistice between Germany and the Allied nations came into effect. And, on the following November 11, 1919, Armistice Day was commemorated for the first time. President Wilson proclaimed the day should be “filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service and with gratitude for the victory”. Thank a Veteran and help those that are returning from combat. You can get involved at any level, from volunteering at your local VA hospital to helping the family of a Veteran. Do something positive, be a part of the solution for the real heroes.
I took a walk on the beach at Sullivan's Island early this morning and I was just overwhelmed with a sense of gratitude. Nothing significant had happened or triggered the feeling I am still reeling from just an awareness and deep appreciation for all the people that have made a contribution for what I enjoy every day. When I started out I was actually trying to shake off the pain I live with. In the past I've broken my neck, back and right leg. I've grown to accept that each morning, I roll the dice with what condition I'll be in when I wake up. Sometimes it's crippling, and I have to use a cane to get from the bed to the bathroom. Old injuries aren't getting any better with time. My neck seems to be affected the worst by spasms and sometimes pulls to the side. I fear someday I'll be confined to a wheelchair looking like Steven Hawking, only in my case without the mental horse power. Today wasn't that extreme, but still an effort to get going. So I thought I'd take a little of my own advice and suck it up and walk it off. I managed to get up and about and drove out parking on an access roadway. I plugged in the headphones on my iPhone and launched a playlist and began to walk. Maybe the wind or the sea sparks an inspiration to push through the first 1/4 mile and the tempo from music in my ear helped establish a comfortable pace. The sound of the waves braking between songs is such a soothing pause. Before long I had walked all the way around to where I could view the City of Charleston across the harbor. The wind was at my back and I ducked behind a sand dune to sit and watch the sun wake the city. I could help being thankful for all that I had in my life. The music sounded so great and clear. A high digital sampling rate accented every breath of the artist, every instrument in the song. I thought for a minute, thank you Steve Jobs you absolutely nailed this phone. And then I thought of all the people who had made a contribution, the designers, engineers and all the other unsung heroes that made a contribution in their lifetime to making the world a better place for everyone. My mind raced to the soldiers that defended this port, the people that cleared the land, those that built the city I now call home, and everyone that made a contributing effort to allowing me to enjoy this moment and all the great people I have in my life. There's so many I could even list them or even begin to, the rush of all theses ideas and pieces of technology building upon each other was overwhelming. Hopefully each of us add a little something along the path of our lives to make it a little easier for the next guy. Walking back it occurred to me that in the end, that's all you can really hope to do. I don't know if the guy that invented the tennis ball realized how much joy he brought into a dog's life, but he nailed that too.